Josh Heupel addresses Nico Iamaleava’s exit, Vols starting QB situation during SEC Media Days with telling quote

It’s been nearly three months since Nico Iamaleava stunned the college football world by leaving Tennessee. On Tuesday, Josh Heupel finally addressed it head-on.

Speaking at SEC Media Days, Heupel was asked about his quarterback room and the high-profile departure of Iamaleava, who transferred to UCLA back in April. Heupel, who has largely remained quiet on the matter until now, kept his comments focused on what lies ahead.

“It’s never about who is not in your building,” Heupel said, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. “It’s about who is in your building.”

Heupel confirmed that it will be an open quarterback competition between Appalachian State/UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar, redshirt sophomore Jake Merklinger, and five-star freshman George MacIntyre.

While Heupel avoided mentioning Iamaleava by name, his comment was his clearest yet on Tennessee’s plan to move forward without the former five-star signal caller, who started all of last season but transferred amid reported NIL friction and growing scrutiny.

Back in April, Iamaleava’s exit was seen as one of the most surprising developments of the offseason. His decision caused Aguilar — originally committed to UCLA — to transfer to Tennessee. The two effectively swapped programs in what many dubbed the first unofficial “trade” of the NIL and transfer portal era.

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“You run it right back to when Jeremy Pruitt left,” 247Sports’ Gerald V. Dixon said at the time. “In my opinion, when you don’t have a quarterback that can get you to 10 wins... we’re talking about the team that just lost to the national champions (Ohio State) in the playoffs. So, you’re going down a level and down a step in terms of quarterback play.”

Dixon also pushed back on the idea that Iamaleava’s departure wouldn’t hurt Tennessee in the short term.

“Irregardless of everyone’s opinion about Nico’s ability or how he played or how Tennessee’s offense was last year in terms of heavy run, 76th in passing offense... he still is a player that defensive coordinators had to stay up late at night [for] just because if he was on, Tennessee was almost unbeatable because they played great defense as well.”

As for Iamaleava, his UCLA chapter is just beginning. He’s expected to take over as the Bruins' starting quarterback, replacing none other than Aguilar. For all the chaos the transfer created, it hasn’t hurt Heupel’s confidence — even if it’s now clear the quarterback battle in Knoxville is wide open.